


shed your darkness (watch it rise)

by Seito



Series: tick tock, forward and back (time travel fics) [10]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 05:22:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17933642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seito/pseuds/Seito
Summary: “Cor, let go of Noctis, please.”Cor growled.“Cor.You’re being ridiculous.”





	shed your darkness (watch it rise)

Cor has been fighting for a long time. There was no time to rest, not when his King needed him, not when the rest of his kids (who haven’t been kids in a long time) needed him. The world went to hell, darkness covering the world, so thick, moonlight barely pierced through. Daemons roamed everywhere, supplies were ever so tight, and Cor was one of the pillars of strengths in this dark night. He couldn’t waver, couldn’t falter, and couldn’t crumble.

 

Of course, they tried to convince him otherwise, to take a break and rest. Noctis made it a standing order every three days. Ignis was practically forcing food into Cor’s mouth. Gladio strong armed him into bed more than a few times. Prompto just took him down and sat on him. Iris and Talcott just pouted until Cor felt too guilty.

 

And Cor… tried. But it was hard when his instincts screamed at him to protect them all. Just them. In the darkest corners of his heart, Cor could care less if the rest of the world burned if it meant these kids, the last of his family left, were as happy and safe as they could be. Monica, bless her for surviving and sticking with him so long, merely shook her head in amused exasperation.

 

(Well at least someone was finding amusement in this grim dark world they now lived in.)

 

The world was dark and dangerous. Lestallum remained the only outpost left in Lucis. Few dare to venture out, but killing the daemons curbed their attacks, gave them room to breathe. The lights and the Wall kept the rest of the daemons out. But the rapid loss of knowledge was what hit them the hardest. No one knew how make new electrical cables. The machine know how and the raw supply of copper had vanished. That meant they had to harvest from older, destroyed light poles further out, away from Lestallum.

 

Which was why Cor was out in the dark, hunting.

 

Darkness, while most feared it, was an old friend at this point. After the first year, Cor took a leaf out of Ignis’ book. In a world cast in darkness, where the moonlight didn’t even light the way, vision was useless. So Cor taught himself how to fight blind. Noctis’ magic, humming through the oaths Cor reforged with Noctis was a guiding light, allowing him to see the “sparks”. Libra, refined until it was an internal radar, revealing the vague shape of the world and more importantly the weaknesses and forms of the daemons. Combined it with Cor’s more heightened senses, Cor ventured out in the darkness with a blindfold and Kotetsu at his side.

 

It was not an easy trek. They would haven’t sent Cor if it was.

 

Cor dodged under the flaming sword of the Red Giant. The heat felt so impossibly close. He grit his teeth. It was always the Red Giants. No obvious weakness, just a battle of attrition, whittling down the Red Giant bit by bit.

 

But even daemons got lucky. Cor gasped as a fist collided into him and he was sent flying. He hit something, a wall or table perhaps; there was the sound of glass breaking.  Something crumpled and snapped. Felt like a tree instead of a table instead, judging by the splinters and the sharp pain in his shoulder Cor was now feeling. His head spun, dizzy. What did the Red Giant do? Toss him through an abandoned house?

 

Fire was even closer now. Cor wouldn’t even be surprised if the Red Giant had set everything on fire. He wondered for a brief moment if he should take off his blindfold. With that much fire, he would be able to see for once.

 

His breath hitched as he caught something on the edge of his sense. A tiny magical aura. Noctis’s magical aura.

 

What was Noctis doing out here? He should be back in Lestallum, holding the Wall. Lestallum’s Wall was smaller than Insomnia’s, less draining for Noctis with all his magical might. But that also kept Noctis anchored in the borders of Lestallum, only leaving in case of emergencies for the Wall couldn’t last more than an a few hours without Noctis feeding magic into it.

 

(Cor thanked the Astrals, or rather Shiva and Ramuh as the only two Astrals not in his shit book, for the fact that Noctis had so much magical power, holding the Wall hadn’t aged him the way it had aged Regis. No, the burden of the world of ruin was what wore Noctis down, but at least it wasn’t physical like it was for Regis.)

 

Still, a tiny magical aura. Here. Now. Cor let loose a wounded noise. The last time Noctis’ magical aura had been that small, that tiny, the boys had brought back Noctis, bleeding and on death’s door from a clash against Ardyn. They had barely been able to save him.

 

And there, looming over Noctis, was the presence of a daemon, larger than a Red Giant.

 

Cor snarled, moving as his instincts screamed to protect. He would die before he let his King get hurt.

 

The daemon was weak to swords, which was all Cor needed to make swift work it, hacking and slashing until Cor felt that spark fade away, signaling the daemon was dead. He scooped up Noctis, cradling the tiny magical signature close to his chest, pushing some magic back through their bond to stabilize him. He stretched his senses, trying to map the quickest, fastest way back to Lestallum without running into daemons.

 

Cor’s haunches rose as he sense someone approach them.

 

“Cor, let go of Noctis, please.”

 

Cor growled.

 

“ _Cor_.”

 

Cor snarled, baring his teeth. No. His to protect.

 

“You’re being ridiculous. Noctis? Are you alright?”

 

“I’m okay,” Noctis said, sounding soft and _young_. “But Uncle Cor is hurt. There’s blood.”

 

Cor froze. Uncle Cor. Noctis hadn’t called him Uncle Cor since he was sixteen and was officially named Crown Prince in the eyes of the law. It was a subtle and reluctant shift in duty and station that placed Noctis officially higher than Cor. As a result, Noctis hesitantly but slowly stopped calling him Uncle, Ignis and Gladio shortly following suit.

 

(In the privacy of his head, Cor mourned the loss, but it didn’t really matter to him. What was important was that they were Cor’s pride, his kids, his to protect when Regis, Clarus, and Renatus couldn’t. Besides, the loss of title aside, nothing else had changed. Noctis still followed him like a little duckling and Cor spoiled him in all the ways that he could.)

 

Cor tugged his blindfold loose, opening his eyes. There in the crackling fires and the gleaming moonlight, Cor stared down at the **young** Noctis he had been cradling.

 

“Noct?” Cor asked, voice trembling.

 

‘Noctis wasn’t a child anymore,’ Cor berated himself. ‘You knew this.’ This should be impossible. The Noctis he knew was a grown man, for all that Cor called him a kid in his head, a King, his King. Yet Cor hadn't marked the size difference of the small child in his arms, an impossibility that shouldn't exist and yet somehow did.

 

Noctis tilted his head, reaching out to pat Cor on the cheek. It was a gesture Noctis had used to do when he was a toddler and hide and go seek was his favorite game to play with Cor. A small and quick pat, a ‘you’re there!’ gesture.

 

“You’re acting funny, Uncle Cor,” Noctis said.

 

“Yes, he is acting rather silly, isn’t he, Noctis? I would like the doctors to have a look at you both.”

 

Cor swallowed and looked up. Standing there was Regis. Regis who had been dead for over a decade. Regis who Cor had failed. Regis who Cor had originally swore his life to.

 

Regis frowned. “Cor?”

 

This was too much.

 

-.-.-

 

Sometimes, when it came to Noctis, Regis was too soft. He would argue that there was no such thing. Regis wanted the best for Noctis and Noctis, sweet child he was, rarely asked for much. When Noctis had asked for a trip outside of Insomnia to collect fireflies, Regis should have said no. There was too much danger, plus fireflies meant travel at night and travel at night meant daemons.

 

He should have said no. But he didn’t. Thus the long extensive planning for safety and security begun. Between Clarus and Cor, the plans with Crownsguard had been finalized. Noctis had been so excited, even as he and Regis had taken separate different routes to arrive at their destination.

 

And of course there would be a Marilith waiting to attack them. And of course Noctis would arrive there before Regis.

 

Regis had feared the worse as he rushed to the scene.

 

Instead he found the area set on fire, a dead Marilith and Cor clutching to Noctis like a lifeline.

 

Did Regis know why Cor was here? No. Was Regis surprised to see him? No. Honestly, Regis had fully expected Cor to shadow them on this field trip despite having orders to remain in Insomnia. Regis was well acquainted with Cor’s prickly ‘must protect!’ behavior that often times drove him into paranoia.

 

The blindfold was new though.

 

“Cor, let go of Noctis, please,” Regis said.

 

Cor growled.

 

“ _Cor_.”

 

It had been a long time since Regis had seen Cor like this. The last time was the assassination attempt on Regis, shortly after his crowning, after Weskham had left and Cor and Clarus were still trying to balance out and cover the hole Wes had made. It had come down to Regis and Cor, trapped, surrounded and even after they had stopped the assassins, Cor still refused to let Regis go, still standing like a firm wall, even as Clarus who had arrived on scene with the Crownsguard tried to convinced Cor to stand down.

 

(It took a week for Cor to wind down. There might have been a cuddle pile or two every night to reassure Cor that Regis was perfectly fine. Clarus too. Apparently Weskham and Cid leaving hurt Cor more than it hurt Regis.)  

 

“You’re being ridiculous,” Regis said, lightly teasing, trying to get Cor to relax. “Noctis? Are you alright?”

 

“I’m okay,” Noctis said, from the bear hug that Cor had him trapped in. “But Uncle Cor is hurt. There’s blood.”

 

Ah. Regis was afraid of that. Now he really must convinced Cor to let Noctis go so the doctors could look after him. Given the way Cor was still standing, a patch job with a potion should hold until they made it back to the Citadel.

 

Alarms started to go off in Regis’ head as Cor removed his blindfold and looked at Noctis as if he was the most precious thing in the entire world. As if Noctis was made of glass and if Cor let him go, he would shatter into tiny pieces.

 

“Noct?” Cor asked, voice trembling.

 

“You’re acting funny, Uncle Cor,” Noctis said.

 

“Yes, he is acting rather silly, isn’t he, Noctis? I would like the doctors to have a look at you both,” Regis said. The sooner they left the better. He wasn’t liking the way Cor was reacting. What was wrong?

 

Cor looked at him and something broken. He looked at Regis with an ocean of grief and shame. For what reason could Cor possibly look at him like that?

 

“Cor?” Regis asked. He shuffled forward, careful not to set off Cor’s protective instincts which were undoubtedly still running high. He crouched, reaching out to touch Cor, only for Cor to _pull away_.

 

Regis’ heart sputtered, skipping a beat. Cor never pulled away.

 

“Uncle Cor,” Noctis said, rolling his eyes, fearless despite the situation he had been in merely minutes ago, “It’s just dad.”

 

Cor let loose a noise that sounded too closely like a whimper to Regis’ ears. Good gods, what happened to Cor? Regis wanted both Cor and Noctis back home, safe, now.

 

“Cor,” Regis said, low and gentle, coaxing. He held out his hand. “Let’s go home?”

 

Cor squeezed his eyes shut, as if he couldn’t bear to look at Regis. Regis felt his heart twist, growing heavier. Something was very wrong here.

 

But Cor reached out, placed his hand in Regis’. “Okay,” he said, voice hoarse and trembling.

 

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just... had this mental image of Cor, more instinct than logical reasoning, clutching child!Noctis and going "MINE TO PROTECT" and refusing to let him go. And thus this was born.  
> You can totally bet that once Regis gets Cor back to Insomnia and he calms down a bit that acquiring bby!Ignis, bby!Gladio, (kidnapping bby!Prompto), and bby!Iris is like step one. (bby!Talcott is not born yet sadly). Protect all kids. And don't let Regis and Clarus out sight too. Possibly drag Wes and Cid back. 
> 
> Gladio: How come Uncle Cor is like this?  
> Noctis: Dad said Uncle Cor gets really protective sometimes and that we should frequently hug him.  
> *cue kiddie cuddle piles*  
> Cor: lkjlkjasd 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


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